"She said, 'If you propose to me, I'll punch you clean in the mouth.'"

The Americans star Matthew Rhys won the Emmy for best actor in a drama series during Monday night's awards show. He took home the statuette — his first — for his portrayal of Philip Jennings on the sixth and final season of the FXseries.

"Thank you so much…I will be brief," Rhys began. "I've been told to be my entire life. [Thank you] to all those who gave so much to this incredible journey." He elaborated, "We had a cast and crew that you could only wish for in a fairy tale."

The actor concluded by acknowledging the support of his co-star and longtime love, Keri Russell. "And finally to the woman who truly got me this award, who just stands in front of me every day and puts up with me," Rhys continued before joking about previous Emmy winner Glenn Weiss' onstage proposal. "She said, 'If you propose to me, I'll punch you clean in the mouth.'"

He added: "I don't have the words, I don't have the time — neither of which would do you justice, Keri, really. So thank you. More to come."

Rhys beat out tough competition, including This Is Us' Milo Ventimiglia and Sterling K. Brown, who won the award last year, along with Ozark's Jason Bateman, and Westworld's Jeffrey Wright and Ed Harris.

Last month, Rhys — who has been nominated for best actor in a drama series for The Americans twice before — opened up to The Hollywood Reporter about what it would mean to win in his final season doing the show. "To be recognized feels good because I think everyone strove at the end for a great finish," he said at the time. "There was no shark-jumping or shootouts."

Michael Che and Colin Jost hosted the 2018 Primetime Emmy Awards, which aired live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on NBC. A complete list of winners can be found here.